Bizarre: you can cook your food in the dishwasher
There are plenty of things you can put in the dishwasher. At the top of the list — um, let me think for a moment — dirty dishes. Exactly what the dishwasher is intended for, then. But apparently, I’m not thinking creatively enough again. Because apparently you can also cook food in the dishwasher?!
Yes, really. And I have to say: when you think about it, it’s not that crazy. The dishwasher gets hot when you turn it on, right? Just like your oven or microwave? It may not reach the extremely high temperatures of an oven or microwave, but it does get hot enough to warm up food. Well, you could make a case for it. We’ve also come across a recipe for flavored vodka from the dishwasher, so surely you can cook broccoli in it too. Right?
Is cooking food in the dishwasher healthy?
Most dishwashers reach a temperature of 65°C. Some machines go up to 80°C or even higher. At such temperatures, they can kill bacteria. How hot your dishwasher gets depends on the program and the machine. But at 65°C, your dishwasher can already perform quite a few wonders if you want to cook food in it. In fact, that’s the perfect temperature for cooking food. This way, as many vitamins as possible are preserved. Very healthy, then.
Into the preserving jar
You probably thought of this yourself, but it’s not very smart to put your food in the dishwasher uncovered. You’ll end up with steak, cauliflower or beans with a soapy taste. Or with yesterday’s disgusting leftovers mixed in. Yuck! No, it’s essential to put your food in the dishwasher properly covered. Glass preserving jars are ideal for this. Seal them tightly, place them firmly and upright in the rack, and start the program. After about 1.5 hours, your food should be cooked.
Sous-vide
Your food ends up in a kind of warm water bath in the dishwasher. And what does that make you think of? Exactly, sous-vide cooking! With the sous-vide technique, you vacuum-pack your food and let it cook slowly in low-temperature water. That’s essentially what happens in your dishwasher too. That’s exactly why cooking food in your dishwasher isn’t such a bad idea after all.
Would you dare try it? Or would you rather leave the dishwasher to do what it was designed for?
Also read:
- No more arguments: this is the only right way to load the dishwasher
- How to get your dirty dishwasher sparkling clean again in 5 steps
- Everything sous-vide
Image: still from the YouTube video Eat the Trend
